Okaa
by Xbakiyalo
Summary: Hana, Anna and Yoh’s son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Confused and unsure of who to trust, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh CHAPTER 6 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Hana, Anna and Yoh's son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Distraught, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg

**Rating:** K+ (PG)

**Chapter Notes:** I had writers' block from my other stories, and wanted to try something with Hana. If you review, tell me what you think of Hana's personality. I haven't seen the Manga, so I'm making it up as I go.

**Pairings:** AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei. I own Seiharu, Tetsu, Gemmei, Kimiro and Lynne.

**Key:** In Japanese, Okaa means mother, and Otou means father.

**Other: **For being really kind to me, and taking the liberty to email me about her wonderful story, I'm dedicating this story to 'The dark midnight sky'! Thanks for everything

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It was 2007, eight years since Yoh had defeated and killed his twin brother, Hao. He had married Anna a year after becoming Shaman King and shortly after, Anna gave birth to a boy. They named him Hana, which meant Flower.

Hana was a spitting image of his father, but his hair was blond, not dark brown. He had the same brown eyes and the same addicting laugh. He shared his father's love for adventure, and was constantly getting into trouble. Although Yoh had not put him through any Shaman training, Hana was still practised at using a sword and showed this off on many occasions.

The family lived in Tokyo where, nine years before, Yoh and Anna had lived before the Shaman Tournament. Their friends still kept in touch, many of which had paired off, married, and had children of their own. Tamao and Horo Horo lived next door to them, with their twin daughters Gemmei and Kimiro, who were five. Pirika and Ren with their 4-year-old son Seiharu lived Yokohama, a town about 15 miles from Tokyo. Jun and Ryu lived in a different part of Tokyo with their eight-year-old son, Tetsu, who was almost exactly a year older than Hana.

Chocolove, not surprisingly, hadn't married anyone, but lived a comfortable life just north of Tokyo in a city called Utsunomiya. Faust had followed him there and set up a hospital with Eliza. Manta, now twenty-two years old and a lot taller than he used to be, had gone to university to study science in Hiroshima. He had discovered that Millie studied art there and, although neither of them would admit it, everyone knew that they were very close.

Jeanne, with the help of Lyserg, had freed herself from the Iron Maiden after Hao's death, proclaiming that she'd done all that needed to be done. After a few years, the two had fallen in love and recently had a baby girl. They named her Lynne, a combination of their names and lived in Sapporo, a city on Hokkaido. As a result, they rarely saw the rest of their friends. They felt uncomfortable around Yoh anyway, especially Jeanne, because of what she did to his twin.

Yohmei had passed away two years previously, at an age of 86. Kino was still alive but very elderly. As a result, Mikihisa had moved into Izumo to look after her. To keep the place running, he had some students living there and taught them basic Shaman techniques. Tamao sometimes dropped by to help, as she had once been a student there herself.

However, for Christmas, Anna and Yoh had invited all of their old friends round to their house to have a party and remember 'the old days'. Since it used to be a motel, they could accommodate everyone until New Year and Ren's 22nd birthday on the1st January. On Christmas day, the children, to their annoyance, were ushered off into the room where the Christmas tree was, while the adults sat around a table in the next room reminiscing.

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Hana pressed his ear to the door and screwed up his face. "What're they talking about in there? I can only hear Uncle Horo laughing." He opened the door a crack, but the voices were still muffled. He considered creeping outside to listen closer, but then imagined what Anna would do to him if she caught him eavesdropping. He closed the door.

He sighed and slumped against the door. It was no good. The only distinctive sound he could make out was laughter and occasionally silence. He looked around the room. Anna had decorated it well. But he couldn't admire it for long. His curiosity soon kicked in again and he resumed trying to overhear his parents and their friends.

Tetsu was sitting in one corner of the room, staring at the snow out of the window. He had inherited Jun's gentle nature and not Ryu's adventurous one, so he was content just sitting and watching the world go by. Hana found him dull in the extreme because he never wanted to join in rowdy games. He was more comfortable to curl up with a good book and block out all other noise.

Two-year-old Lynne was asleep in her cot under the Christmas tree. She looked like a mini replica of Jeanne and, when she was awake, you could see her huge, deep pink eyes.

Tamao and Horo's twins were completely different from each other. Although they had identical blue hair and pink eyes, you could easily tell them apart by their personalities. Gemmei was more like Tamao: shy and never liking to be in the spotlight. Kimiro was the complete opposite. She had Horo's sense of humour and, although she was only five, she was as mischievous as Hana.

At that moment, the two were involved in a long and complicated game of dress-up where Gemmei was the princess and Kimiro was the brave knight who had to save her. Hana had been playing with them as the baddy, but had quickly got bored.

Seiharu, Pirika and Ren's son was, in Hana's opinion, just an average kid. He didn't have any striking features apart from his long purple hair and baby blue eyes. While Hana was at the door straining to hear something, Seiharu was sucking his thumb while pushing a small wooden train around a track. He had got it for his fourth birthday a few months ago and still hadn't tired of playing with it.

"What is WITH this?" Hana finally came to the end of his fuse. All the faces in the room turned and looked at him, everyone falling silent. Even Tetsu looked away from the window to stare in surprise at him.

"It's Christmas day! They shouldn't just leave us here all alone. And Okaa even took away the presents from the tree so we couldn't open them. Can't we do something more interesting than just standing here and doing nothing?"

Seiharu shrugged and a quiet clicking sound filled the room as he resumed playing with his train. Hana glared at him but aborted his gaze to rest on Tetsu. "Well?"

Tetsu met Hana's eyes with a bored expression. Gemmei and Kimiro stared at him with their wide pink eyes, lost for words. For a few moments the only sound was the clock ticking and Seiharu's train making its steady way around the small track. Then Lynne, disturbed by Hana's shouting, began to cry. Gemmei jumped and peered into the cot. The sight of a strange face made Lynne scream even louder.

Hana ran over to the door to fetch 'Auntie Jeanne', but before he got there it had already opened and Lyserg came in. He waved cheerfully at them before scooping Lynne out of her cot and cradling her in his arms, humming softly. He caught Hana looking at him and smiled in his soft way.

"Never have kids," he teased, kissing Lynne on her forehead before grabbing a rattle from the cot and exiting the room. Hana slipped out after him and Lyserg looked back and frowned.

"I thought your Okaa said that you had to stay in that room until we were ready to give out presents."

Hana smiled innocently at him. "I just need to go to the toilet," he said, inching along to the bathroom. Lyserg seemed to accept this excuse and went through to the room where everyone else was. Hana made his way as slowly as possible and heard Chocolove crack some sort of joke, because everyone laughed and Ren yelled something. He smiled slightly.

He went into the bathroom but just sat on the lid of the toilet. He had to stay in here long enough to make it seem as if he'd actually been. He sighed and looked around the room and his eyes rested on a pile in the corner. Sliding off the toilet, he went in for a closer look and jumped back as he realised what he was looking at: a pile of white skeleton charms. Faust must have put them there.

Hana didn't really know what to think of 'Uncle Faust'. He was the only one of his parents' friends who he didn't call by his first name. Come to think of it, he didn't even know what Faust's first name was. He thought it began with a 'J' but that could bring up a whole range of names, especially since he was German. He'd talked to Manta once about it, and all he would say was that he had forever been scared of Faust because they had a bad encounter when they first met. He wouldn't say any more in the subject, so Hana had to be contented with guessing.

But Faust had never put a pile of bones in the bathroom before. Hana was wary of him anyway, being in love with a dead spirit and infatuated with bones and skeletons. He sighed, flushed the toilet to make it sound like he'd been, and kicked the pile as he went out. He would tell Anna later.

For now, he was going to find out what the adults were talking about.

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"Tell us what happened with the1080 beads again!" Pirika looked beseechingly at Anna.

Tamao nodded her agreement. "We weren't there to see it happen, and I've never tired of hearing about it."

Anna was sitting back on her chair with her arms crossed. Yoh sat next to her with his arm around her shoulder. Sometime in the past eight years, Anna had relaxed her personality and sometimes let her emotions show. She didn't train Yoh as hard as she used to but she could still pack a hefty punch when she wanted to. But, of course, that was only when Hana wasn't around. At Pirika and Tamao's request, she sat forwards and placed her elbows on her table they were sitting around. Nobody noticed Hana peering in from the door.

"The 1080 beads are the weapons that defeated Hao 500 years before in the last Shaman Tournament. When used correctly by an Itako, they can freeze their opponents movements and, consequently leave them vulnerable to attack and unable to defend themselves. Before I used them, they hadn't been seen for the 500 years before. Kino powered them up for me, and I ran off to where Yoh and everyone else were fighting Hao.

"But…but when I arrived, Yoh was…" she glanced at her husband. "Dead."

The room fell silent; nobody liked remembering. Outside, Hana furrowed him brow. He couldn't have heard that correctly. If his Otou had died, then he wouldn't still be there, right?

Anna continued. "Silva and Karim tried to tell us not to fight with anger, but we didn't listen. After hard fighting from Ryu, Chocolove, Faust, Horo Horo, Ren and Lyserg," she glanced at them with something close to gratitude on her face. "They managed to get Hao in an exposed position. I called on the 1080 beads to bind Hao so that we could defeat him."

There was an awkward silence. Anna sighed. "But, as you all know, Hao had been expecting that and broke them apart." She fingered her own beads. "And that's my part of the story."

She looked around the room. Yoh was staring at the ceiling, probably remembering his time inside Hao's body. Lyserg had his arm around Jeanne, the two of them concentrating intently on Lynne, who had stopped crying. The others in the room were looking at anything but Yoh and Anna, who had tears in her eyes. She took her elbows off the table and leaned back against Yoh and closed her eyes, remembering.

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Hana sat back against the doorframe. He'd heard all that he wanted to hear and decided to go back to where he was supposed to be. He didn't want Tetsu to tell on him. Once back inside the room he sat in one of the big armchairs and closed his eyes. Something bad had happened before he was born. Something involving someone called Hao and his Otou. His Okaa had been there too, and all their friends. So why hadn't they ever told him about this before? It was important enough for them to shove him in a room while they talked about it.

He opened his eyes. "Tetsu!" he called across the room. Tetsu averted his gaze from the snow out the window to Hana.

"What?"

"Have you ever heard of a guy called Hao?"

"Nope. Why?"

"Nothing."

So he hadn't heard about it either. He inquired the same thing from Gemmei and Kimiro and Seiharu, but got the same, blank response. He snuggled deeper into the armchair and turned the name Hao over and over in his head. Nothing made any sense.

All too soon, the door opened and the adults came streaming in, looking solemn. Gemmei and Kimiro shrieked happily and rushed to Tamao and Horo to be swung up in the air. Seiharu pottered over to Pirika and got a hug in return. Tetsu was given a peck on the cheek by Jun. The rest of the adults were hefting big parcels and soon there was a small mountain of them.

Yoh was one of the last to enter the room, with Anna just behind him. He smiled at Hana and kissed him on the cheeks, but something seemed wrong. As he looked closer, Hana could see a tear glistening in the corner of his Otou's eye.

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Do the Japanese celebrate Christmas? It was the first holiday that came to mind. In case you were wondering, all the town and places mentioned where they all live are real. I, however, made up what happened to each character. None of 'who married whom and what children they had' is from the Manga, apart from Hana.

About the bit with Hana not knowing what Faust's real name is. I'm not too sure myself. Anyone know? And, just a thought: is it 1080 or 1008? The beads, that is. The next chapter should be up in a week or so.

As always, please leave a review!

Xbakiyalo


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** Hana, Anna and Yoh's son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Confused and unsure of who to trust, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg

**Rating:** K+ (PG)

**Chapter Notes:** Sorry for the very long wait. First I was at a camp and then I went to California for two weeks. So, finally, here we are.

**Pairings:** AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei. I own Seiharu, Tetsu, Gemmei, Kimiro and Lynne.

**Key:** In Japanese, Okaa means mother, Otou means father, Oto means son and Oji means grandfather.

**Other: **Dedicated to 'The dark midnight sky'! Thanks for everything

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Hana couldn't concentrate on Christmas. By nature, he was a curious boy and, after what he'd heard, didn't know how to react to his parents. He wanted to know why his Otou had died and how he could still be with them. It occurred to him once that Yoh might be a spirit, but he soon ruled that one out after realising that you couldn't touch spirits. Spirits can't kiss you on the cheek, or throw you in the air, or tuck you in bed at night.

His thoughts were momentarily destroyed when the presents were given out. From Auntie Pirika, he got a plush doll. Trying to look happy, he tossed it aside to receive Uncle Ren's present – a new plastic sword. He had broken his old one a few months before while fighting with his Otou. He did a few practise stabs in the air before Gemmei started to whimper and his Okaa told him off. Hana glared at his cousin before another present was placed on his lap.

He tore it open to find a book entitled 'Children's Bible Stories'. Looking up to see who gave it to him, he found himself face to face with Auntie Jeanne. He jumped, earning him a reproachful stare from Jeanne, before she moved aside and Uncle Lyserg placed his presents before him. Hana greedily ripped the paper and found more children's stories, but non-religious this time. He started reading the first one, stopping momentarily by a nudge from his Okaa. He looked up at Uncle Lyserg and Auntie Jeanne, gave them a dazzling smile, and then returned to reading.

Hana was a bright kid, and had been reading since he could remember. His Otou was always available when he wanted to practise, and he was quick to catch on. Within five minutes, he had read the first story in the book, only slipping on a word or two. But his Otou helped him with them, so it wasn't a problem.

From Auntie Jun he got a box of 'Temporary Tattoos'. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Uncle Ren grimace and touch his back. He wondered why, but didn't brood on the subject. Uncle Ryu was next, who gave him a tube of hair gel. Hana gingerly squeezed some onto his hand and rubbed it messily into his hair, where it stuck up at all angles. His Okaa gave an impatient sigh and rubbed it back smooth again.

At the end of the day, he was sat surrounded by all his presents, including a snowboard from Horo Horo, homemade cakes from Tamao, a book of jokes from Chocolove (something he got every year), chocolate from Millie, Ghost Stories from Manta, a German hat from Faust and, most interestingly, a necklace of beads from Kino. She would not give any details as to why she had given them to him. Hana compared them to his Okaa's, and concluded that his were shinier.

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Surprisingly for Hana, it was his Okaa who first realised that something was bothering him. He could see that she was treating him tenderly, but thought it was just because it was Christmas Day until he was being tucked into bed. He had to share a room with Tetsu, who was being tucked in by his own parents. Gemmei, Kimiru, Seiharu and Lynne were in other rooms with their parents. Hana could hear Lynne crying tiredly as his Okaa kissed the top of his head.

"Have you had a good day, Hana?"

There was something in her voice which made Hana suspect she knew something was wrong. He nodded unconvincingly as Yoh ruffled his hair, and watched the sceptical look on Anna's face. She got up and left the room just as Ryu and Jun did, leaving Hana alone with his Otou.

Yoh knelt down and kissed his forehead. "Have a good sleep, Hana my flower," he said, as he got up to leave. Just as he was going through the door, he heard Hana's voice.

"Otou, who's Hao?"

Yoh froze and Hana saw him visibly stiffen in the dim light. There was a cold silence.

"How do you know about Hao?" Yoh's voice was soft, but Hana felt afraid of his Otou for the first time in his life.

"I…I just heard Okaa talking about him."

"Never ask me about Hao again!" Yoh slammed the door of Hana's room, filling it with darkness. Hana felt sick.

"What was that about?" Tetsu's voice was probably the last thing he wanted to hear at that moment, but he didn't have the strength to reply. Hana buried his head in his pillow and wept.

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Yoh sat outside Hana's room with wide eyes. He couldn't believe that he's just spoken to his Oto like that. But then again, Hana had mentioned Hao. From the minute he found out that Anna was pregnant, he's sworn not to let his child know about what had happened in the Shaman Tournament. He couldn't imagine anything worse for a child than to find out that his Otou had killed his twin brother. Admittedly, Hao had deserved it, but Yoh couldn't help feeling that he'd killed a part of himself.

And now Hana had found out about Hao. Yoh wasn't sure how much he knew, but was sure Hana would find out, especially since he was surrounded by people who knew what happened. Yoh rubbed his temples. He couldn't forgive himself for snapping at Hana. The boy was just curious, like he was at that age. And he couldn't tell the boy himself because he'd sworn a vow.

Yoh couldn't face seeing his friends at that moment, so he went to his own room and slipped under the duvet. He was still there when, an hour later, Anna came in to go to bed herself.

"Is something wrong, Yoh?" she asked as she got into bed beside him. "Your friends missed you."

Yoh sighed. "I yelled at Hana," he said flatly. "He asked me who Hao was, so I lost it."

Anna betrayed no emotion but shock. "How does he know about Hao?"

"He said he heard you talking about him." Realisation hit him. "He must have been listening when you explained about the 1080 beads."

Anna leaned forwards and kissed his cheek. "I can understand how you feel, and I can imagine what Hana is feeling. You should go and apologise. I'll talk to him and explain in the morning because you can't."

Yoh nodded, but didn't feel better. Hana was stubborn, and it would take more than an apology for them to come together again. Anna watched as he got out of bed and went down the corridor as she sighed. What a bad way to end Christmas!

She knew Hana wouldn't accept Yoh's apology, but making him leave the room gave her a few minutes to think. She would have to tell Hana about Hao because of that stupid oath Yoh made when she told him she was pregnant. What could she tell him that wouldn't make him blow up with anger? Definitely not that Yoh was Hao's twin. That would just make the situation worse. The facts had to come slowly. She would tell them to him one by one and tell him later about the way Yoh and Hao were related. Relaxing slightly now she knew what to do, she listened out the door to see if Yoh had finished talking to Hana yet.

"Hana? Flower?" she heard him say; but there was obviously no answer because he shut the door soon afterwards and came back up into their room. "He's asleep," he reported. "I'll talk to him in the morning."

But inside Hana's room, the boy was still very much awake. He had heard his Otou calling his name but gave no reply.

His face was still wet with tears.

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In the morning, Tetsu woke to the familiar Tokyo sounds he heard each morning. He looked over at his cousin, who was still asleep in the bed across the room. Uncle Yoh had been really angry with him last night for, as far as he could tell, no reason at all. Hana had simply mentioned someone's name. Since Hana had asked him about it the day before, Tetsu had realised that he had heard the name 'Hao' before; his parents occasionally said it. But that gave no clue as to why Uncle Yoh had shouted.

Before he'd fallen asleep last night, he'd heard Hana sniffing quietly and guessed that he was crying. Tetsu had never seen Hana cry before. He was so tough and carefree that just the sound made Tetsu uneasy. Just before Hana went to sleep, Tetsu had heard him mumbling, "Otou, Otou…"

Tetsu saw Hana open his eyes and the two of them stared at each other before the former looked away. Something had been shared between them – a bond of trust? The power of hope? A sense of friendship? Even Tetsu wouldn't tell. But from that one look, he knew that Hana would never be the same again.

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Hana knew Tetsu could be relied upon from that moment. He wouldn't go around telling everyone that Hana and his Otou had fought. He shivered, even though he was quite warm, when he remembered the tone Yoh had used the evening before. He had never, ever used that tone with his before. Once again, the thought, no, the hope that he had been dreaming crossed his mind, but those hopes crashed around his head when Yoh opened the door.

Hana quickly glanced at Tetsu, but the boy pretended to still be asleep. He felt a glimmer of gratitude as he turned towards his Otou, not even daring to look him in the eye. Yoh saw this and also cast his eyes downwards. Hana thought he looked sorry for himself and thoughts of, 'You pig, you deserve this!' made him realise just how much had changed between them.

"Hey, Flower," his Otou said, trying to sound happy. "Had a good sleep?" In reply, Hana just glared at the floor. There was silence for a moment.

"Hana," Yoh started. "I'm sorry about last night. When you mentioned Hao's name, I just lost control because I promised myself that I'd never hear that name come out of your mouth. I'll have to go back on that now. Okaa's waiting to tell you everything you need to know. I made an unbreakable oath that I wouldn't tell you, or I would do it myself."

Yoh leaned in closer. "I know you probably hate me now, but I still love you, no matter what you find out."

Hana wanted to yell at his Otou to tell him how horrible he was to have yelled in the first place, but the words choked in his throat. He looked up, meaning to make a rude remark instead, but stopped when he saw Yoh's face. There was a tear running down his cheek; but he was smiling.

Hana reached out and slapped his Otou's face.

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Hana angrily stormed out of his room, leaving a shocked Yoh and a frightened Tetsu, yelling the worst insults he could come up with about his Otou. How dare he think that everything would be fixed by giving a little 'I love you' speech! He ignored Uncle Ren frowning at him; he ignored Auntie Tamao's concerned face and Kimiru's confused eyes; he even ignored Oji Mikihisa as he hurried noisily towards his Okaa's room.

Anna heard him coming and knew that Yoh had had no luck apologising to Hana. It didn't surprise her, but it still worried her. It would make the truth harder to accept. She wanted to hold Hana tight and keep the past away from his, for it could tear apart their whole family. She had known this would happen sooner or later from the minute she knew she was pregnant, but just stood by as Yoh swore an oath. She regretted letting him do that now.

They should have let him know gradually, but Yoh forbade her to even tell him Hao's name. She almost smiled when she realised that, eight years ago, she would never have let Yoh order her around like that. But something had changed her emotionally. Perhaps it was seeing her Yoh die and then come back again to defeat the person who threatened their lives. Or perhaps it was Hana.

Anna jumped as her Oto shoved the door open. He stopped yelling when he saw how calm she was, and realised this just in time to kick the doorframe before walking to his parents' bed. Anna helped him up and they sat facing each other; Hana with an expression of contempt and Anna with an impassive face.

Hana spoke first: "What's going on? Otou yelled at me for no reason and then tried to apologise without an explanation. I want to know who Hao is."

"Shh, Hana. You have to calm down if we're going to have a proper conversation. Let's start at the beginning. How did you first find out about Hao?"

There was a slight pause. "Yesterday," said Hana. "When you shut us in a room I wanted to know what was so important. I heard you talk about someone called Hao, some beads an Otou being dead."

Anna smiled sadly. "You need to know about Hao before I can tell you about Otou. The beginning of the story is about 1000 years ago. Hao, or an incarnation on Hao, was alive then, a member of the Patch. Do you know who they are?"

"Yes. They oversaw the tournament Otou was in."

"Good. But Hao was different, and extremely powerful. Not a good combination. He thought that all humans were weak and wanted to transform the world into a perfect one, unspoiled by humans, where only Shamans lived."

"But…what about Manta?"

"You're right. That would mean that Manta would have been destroyed, along with the rest of the humans. In a way, it was a good intention, but his vision consumed him and he would stop at nothing, even killing innocent Shamans, to achieve it. In the end, he was defeated by the 1080 beads you heard about.

"But, since Hao was so powerful, his furyoku enabled him to be reincarnated 1000 years later. He entered the same tournament as your Otou, with the same dream, and the same mad idea that killing weak Shamans would help him achieve his perfect world. He could see that Otou was a strong Shaman, but when he rejected Hao's offer to join his side, he chose to fight him in a final battle to the death.

"Hao was much stronger than Otou. He beat him easily and then consumed his spirit."

Hana didn't totally understand what that meant, but gasped, "Why?"

"Because it would make him stronger and get rid of an opponent. However, unfortunately for Hao, Otou had a big group of friends; that is, Uncle Ren, Horo, Chocolove, Faust, Ryu and Lyserg. The continued fighting Hao in Otou's memory and their will brought his spirit back to his body.

"To cut a long story short, Otou continued fighting Hao but was still losing badly. As he was nearly out of furyoku, everyone who was watching – Millie and her friends, Silva and Karim, Auntie Jeanne and Marco, all your other aunts and uncles, and Manta and me – gave our power to Otou. The two were now equally matched but, because Otou was following his heart, he won."

Anna leaned forwards. "Hana, Hao is dead. All his followers are either dead or too weak to do anything."

Hana sat, not saying anything for a while. "So, Otou got mad because he didn't want me to know that?"

"That's right. He had some painful memories."

Hana frowned. That didn't sound right. Just the background of some guy wasn't that important – was it?

"Your Otou was very upset that he yelled at you. I can't make you be friends with him again, but I ask you."

Hana nodded. "Fine," he said, and left the room, leaving Anna alone to hope that she said the right things.

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Outside Anna's window, two people stood listening. As the conversation finished, they turned as one and walked away, whispering to each other.

"Anna's changed. I'm sure she wasn't that nice."

"Is that really Yoh's son? I'm impressed – he was Hao's attitude."

"Imagine her not telling him that Hao's Yoh's twin!"

"Don't complain, it'll make our job a whole lot easier."

They walked into the morning crowds of Tokyo, separating to make sure they weren't being followed. One of them looked back briefly, whispering, "Hana…what a pretty name," before disappearing from view.

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-phew- I'm done.

Just two things I'd like in your reviews: Do you like the new (nice) Anna, and who do you think the mysterious people are? Oh, and don't bother asking why Hana got so upset because his Otou yelled at him. It's because he's spoiled. Badly :-)

**Daedal:** Nah, Ryu goes with Jun just because he fancied her and they look so cute together. And don't you dare keep the DVDs from me!

**Hao's girl:** Yeah, I pestered my parents to buy it but they said no. Besides, I don't know Japanese. But I wish I could have it just for the pictures of Hana.

**Xiren: **Yeah, now I think about it, that does sound a little weird. But Seiharu's only 4, I think I can forgive him. He'll probably be more unique when he grows up :)

**Asn Water: **Lol, yeah, I considered making all the kids completely wreck the Christmas tree before Hana went to listen, but it didn't really fit.

**Umi: **Hmm, I changed my view of Hana as well. He was supposed to be mischievous, but he came out nosy. And, you're the second person who's commented on Seiharu. As I said to Xiren, I think he'll get better when he grows up. The pairing of Ryu and Jun came from episode 23 (I think), where Ryu says he'd like to get to know Jun better (so cute!).

**ChibiAzn3:** Don't worry about it. Thanks for trying! I thought they didn't either and that was why I asked.

**The dark midnight sky:** You're welcome Glad you like it. I reviewed your story, by the way. It's excellent!

Special thanks to **YohxAnna4Ever**, **Asn Water**, **Animeren**, **Bukashka** and **Crimson Dragon X** for enlightening me on subjects like 1080 beads and Faust's first name, which, I found out, is Johann.

Thanks to my other reviewers, **SKF**, **Hemila-Rose, PendulumxSwing**, **Jiaochan**, **OnEcRaZyGaL** and **Twighlight13**.

And **D**, I thank you for my first ever flame…I think…

As always, please leave a review!

Xbakiyalo


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary:** Hana, Anna and Yoh's son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Confused and unsure of who to trust, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Rating:** K+ (PG)

**Chapter Notes:** I found out what 'Uncle', 'Aunt', 'Son' and 'Cousin' were in Japanese Romanji so I've added them to the other two chapters. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Pairings:** AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei. I own Seiharu, Tetsu, Gemmei, Kimiro and Lynne.

**Key:** In Japanese, Okaa means mother, Otou means father, Musoko means son, Baka means idiot, Itoko means cousin, Anata means darling.

**Other: **Dedicated to 'The dark midnight sky'! Thanks for everything

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Yoh was in the living room with his friends when Hana came to find him. After their fight, he'd tried to forget about it by distracting himself, and it had worked. All the other children were there too, forcing their parents to play with their new Christmas presents. Tetsu, as usual, was sitting staring out of the window, but he had a troubled look on his face. Manta and Millie were out shopping together while Mikihisa and Kino were deep in conversation. Lyserg and Jeanne had noticed that Hana wasn't there, so they left Lynne in her cot while they talked to Yoh about their life after the tournament.

"Morphin and Jeanne persuaded me to continue my studies on detective work, so I finally became a police detective about three years ago. I use dowsing with Morphin, of course, but to capture the criminals I shoot Zerual at them. It took a while to get used to having two spirits, but it's very useful."

Lyserg leant back patting Zerual's gun while Morphin sat on his shoulder, and Jeanne took over.

"I'm sorry we live so far away. After seeing Kororo, I was intrigued by the Koropokkokuru, so we moved to Hokkaido to be near them. It was also convenient because, as you know, I didn't feel comfortable around you after what happened to Hao."

She shifted in her seat when Yoh looked at his hands.

"Shamash also liked the snow. He's still as aggressive as ever, but fortunately there aren't very many people about. Besides, I would never call him out now unless no one was about or there was someone was in danger."

She seemed oblivious to the fact that Yoh had witnessed Shamash kill three Shamans unfairly. He looked at his feet, a bit embarrassed that she could still talk about that, especially when she had tried to use him to get rid of Hao. There was silence for a moment before Lyserg spoke.

"So, is Hana with Anna?"

Yoh looked up sharply. "Yes."

"No," came a small voice from Yoh's elbow. "We finished."

Yoh jumped and looked down to see Hana staring coldly up at him. "Eh, excuse us," he said to Lyserg and Jeanne, and went into the next room with Hana.

"Hana! Are you okay?"

"Yes, Otou. Everything's fine." He said it in such a calm voice that Yoh instantly knew it was a lie. There was an awkward silence. Yoh looked at his feet and Hana stared fiercely at his Otou, as if daring him to challenge him.

"Hana, I know you're upset, but we've got to put this behind us."

"I know it's behind me, Otou. But I can still look over my shoulder and see it."

Yoh smiled. A hint of the old Hana was coming back. "Don't look over your shoulder then."

Hana's face remained unreadable until he reached out and hugged his Otou. "I'll try, Otou. I'll try. But you'll have to help me."

"Anyway I can."

"Why did you get mad at me?"

"Didn't Okaa tell you?"

"Yes, but she left out a load of stuff. I could tell. She didn't tell me what Hao has to do with why you got upset. Or why you'll talk about him with your friends but get upset when I only mentioned his name."

Yoh blinked. "I swore I'd never let you know because I knew it would upset you. I had to break that promise, and that's something I've never done before."

"I forgive you, Otou. And I guess I forgive Okaa too, even though I know you haven't told me everything."

Otou and Musoko came together in a hug. "All in due time, Hana. One day when you're old enough, we'll tell you everything about the tournament and Hao."

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Yoh and Hana went back into the living room to find it nearly the same as when they went out. Manta and Millie had come back from the shops, and they sat with Mikihisa, trying to give him a new, festive mask for his face. Kino had fallen asleep in her wheelchair, and Lyserg and Jeanne were playing with Lynne. Anna was still nowhere to be seen, and Yoh supposed she was still in her room. Tetsu had also moved from his place by the window and was not in the room. Yoh sat down with Manta and Millie while Hana ran off to find his Okaa.

"How's university going, Manta?"

The two gave up on Mikihisa and turned towards Yoh. Yoh noticed Manta absent-mindedly putting his arm around Millie, but didn't comment.

"It's very good, much better than I imagined. The professors are amazing and the work that we do is fascinating. I've always wanted–"

He was interrupted by a loud, male scream coming from another room. Instantly, all the adults in the room were on their feet and spirits appeared from nowhere. Yoh looked panicked, gasping, "Hana!" at the same time as Jun yelled out, "Tetsu!" Yoh was the first to the door, quickly followed by Ryu and Jun. The others looked at each other before pursuing the three parents. Once in the corridor they sprinted down to where the scream came from and found themselves at the bathroom.

Tetsu was lying unmoving in a corner while Hana stood in the middle of the room with a sword pointed at Anna, who was kneeling in the doorway, looking shocked. Yoh was the first one to move: he stepped forward, pointing Harusame at his Musoko. "Hana! What do you think you're doing? What did you do to Tetsu?"

Hana turned around, glaring for all he was worth, but didn't reply. Yoh's eyes rested on the bone sword he was holding and realised with a jolt that a spirit had been oversouled into it. How had Hana managed to get a spirit? How could he control an oversoul with no training at all? He repeated these questions to Hana, whose eyes turned into slits.

"If you don't know, Otou-Baka, I'm not going to tell you. I'm going outside."

He started towards the door, but Yoh blocked the way. "You're not going anywhere until you explain what you've done, and how you did it."

The next thing happened so fast, Yoh didn't know what happened. The first thing he saw was Hana's sword swiping towards him so quickly that it was a blur. Then Anna leapt in front of him, the sword hitting her arm instead of Yoh. Both Anna and Hana fell to the ground like Tetsu was, still and unmoving.

"Anna!" gasped Yoh, before rushing to her side and lifting her head up. His reward was a smack on his face which sent him flying backwards. He cleared his head just in time to see her stand up, picking up the sword which Hana, who was still motionless, had wielded. The thought momentarily crossed his mind that Anna looked strange holding a sword instead of her beads, but then Lyserg temporarily blocked his sight. Instead, he looked towards the door where Ryu and Jun looked anguished and his other friends looked helpless.

Lyserg surprised himself by standing up to Anna. He thought he knew what was going on, and knew that if he was right, he could save Tetsu, Hana and Anna. He looked down at his feet, trying to draw up the courage, before looking up at Anna, who had a fire blazing in her eyes and a sword in her hand, pointing at him.

"Move," she hissed.

"No," he replied, simply. But it did the trick. She lunged. And it took every ounce of his strength to stop him from diving out of the way. He closed his eyes. Jeanne screamed. The sword struck him on the chest. Anna collapsed. Lyserg fell to the ground. There was silence over the house until Jeanne jumped up.

"Lyserg! Lyserg, you baka, what did you think you were doing?" She rushed over to the still form and turned him over. His shirt had been ripped by the strike, exposing some skin underneath. Jeanne examined it, surprised to find no marks on it at all. She jumped when Lyserg twitched, then moaned, then sat up. Jeanne got up and started to back away slowly, wary that he might do the same as Anna did to Yoh, but instead got a sheepish grin.

Yoh just stared at a figure behind Lyserg: Morphin. She was struggling with a small cage containing a spirit. He looked back at Lyserg and understanding passed through him. The spirit had been in the sword, merging into a Hyoi Gattai with anyone who's skin touched it, thereby gaining complete control over the person. Lyserg had managed to capture the spirit by being in Hyoi Gattai with Morphin when the spirit tried to merge with him.

Lyserg took the cage from Morphin and examined the spirit with Jeanne while Yoh, Ryu and Jun tried to rouse Hana, Anna and Tetsu.

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Tetsu was the first to wake up. He was in his bed in Hana's room and surrounded by his parents and other friends. Kimiru was the first to notice that he was awake. She ran to her Okaa. "Itoko Tetsu's opened his eyes!" she exclaimed to Tamao, who immediately pointed this out to his parents, Ryu and Jun. They were at his side in an instant.

"Tetsu!" cried Jun. "Oh, Tetsu, are you okay?"

The boy sat up wearily. "I think so. The last thing I can remember is picking up one of the bone charms in the bathroom. Then everything went dark. It hurt, Otou!" He buried his head in Ryu's arms, who turned and frowned at Faust. Faust gradually became aware that everyone in the room was looking at him.

"I didn't put those charms there," he insisted. "My bone charms don't turn into swords and control people."

Ryu still looked doubtful, but didn't accuse him again. Faust shrugged and went over to the other side of the room where everyone else was around Hana. He had just woken up and was telling his side of the story.

"I'd gone to get Okaa to say I was sorry for getting mad and we heard a noise coming from the bathroom. We went in and Tetsu was there with a sword that looked like it was made of bone. He attacked us and we both dodged but then it scraped my leg and then I don't remember anything else."

He looked around with a worried expression. "Is Tetsu okay? What happened to him?" A thought suddenly dawned on him. "Where are Otou and Okaa?"

Everyone around his shuffled, no one wanting to tell him that he'd attacked his Okaa, but Faust intervened. "Tetsu was being controlled by a spirit in the sword. When he scraped you, the spirit was passed on. You then proceeded to attack your Okaa, who then attacked Ojii Lyserg. Fortunately, Ojii Lyserg knew what was going on and managed to capture the spirit instead of being controlled by it. Tetsu has just woken up, but your Okaa is with your Otou in a different room, probably still out cold."

Hana closed his eyes, taking it in. "I hope they're okay," he said.

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"Anata? Anna?" Anna slowly came to consciousness when Yoh called her name. She blinked blurrily and found herself staring into her fiancée's face. She quickly shook her head and looked away. Yoh smiled thankfully.

"Finally you're awake! Are you okay? What happened?"

"Uh…" Anna sat up and tried to reach in the back of her mind for memories. "Hana and me were coming to the living room when we heard a bang coming from the bathroom. We went to have a look and Tetsu stabbed Hana with a sword. Then you came in and I don't remember anything else but pain."

Yoh winced at the thought of his Anna hurting. "They were being controlled by spirits. Lyserg worked that one out and managed to capture the spirit. You were taken over by the spirit as well when Hana hit you with the sword."

Anna put a hand to her forehead. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"No, Anata. No one got hurt. You attacked Lyserg, but he managed to capture the spirit. He's trying to work out what kind of spirit it is at the moment-"

He was stopped short when Lyserg burst through the door. "Yoh, you've got to come and see this. The spirit – the one who was in the sword; I think I know who it belongs to!"

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Ooh, cliffie!

In case you were wondering, the whole 'spirit controlling a body' thing was not my invention. I took the idea from Boris, the guy in the anime and the manga who everyone thought was a vampire. Yoh saved Lyserg.

Next chapter should be done in about two weeks because I went back to school today.

Thanks to my reviewers, Hemila-Rose, YohxAnna4Ever, Yona57, ChibiAzn3, StrongBadia, Knux33, Snow-Angel-Anna, BabyKaoru-Sama, Hannami08 and kawaiiXkesshou.

As always, please leave a review!

Xbakiyalo


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary:** Hana, Anna and Yoh's son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Confused and unsure of who to trust, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Rating:** K+ (PG)

**Chapter Notes:** After that -very exciting- cliffie from the last chapter, here is the moment you have all been waiting for…that's right! Chapter 4 is here!!! Sorry for the very long delay. I have lots of homework --;;

**Pairings:** AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei. I own Seiharu, Tetsu, Gemmei, Kimiro and Lynne.

**Key:** In Japanese, Okaa means mother, Otou means father, Musoko means son, Aishiteru means I love you, Gomen means sorry.

**Other: **Dedicated to 'The dark midnight sky'! Thanks for everything

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Yoh glanced at Anna and saw from her gaze that he could go with Lyserg to see the identified spirit. The two friends rushed out of the room and into Lyserg and Jeanne's temporary bedroom. Jeanne was sitting on the bed with Morphin on her shoulder, closing her eyes. She opened them when Yoh and Lyserg came in and gave him a sad smile, before moving over so that he could see the spirit in the cage. Yoh came up and examined the spirit. After a few minutes of silence he looked up at Lyserg.

"Chuck," he said simply. "Mari's spirit?"

Lyserg nodded. "The Hanagumi must still be alive and wanting revenge. I think they aimed to kidnap Hana. Remember he said he was going outside?"

Yoh nodded slowly. "They want to take Hana to get revenge on me?"

"I think so. Yoh, we need to keep Chuck under very close guard. I suggest the spirits set up a watch. Even though that cage is unbreakable from the inside, I have a feeling the Hanagumi may try and get their spirit back. And when they do, Hana will be in danger. In fact, I think Hana is in danger even with Chuck in a cage. There are three of them; they still have two of their spirits. And, if I remember correctly, Jack was the most powerful. Unluckily, Chuck is the weakest so they still have their two strongest spirits. They may have even been training since Hao was defeated, and therefore be stronger than we thought. Maybe you should start giving Hana training."

Yoh put his head in his hands. "No," he said softly.

"What?"

"No, I don't want to put Hana through Shaman training. He's not ready for it yet."

"But Yoh, he's seven years old! I started training before that, you started training before that-"

"No, Lyserg." The two locked eyes. "I don't want him to worry. If he knows someone's after him, he'll become more and more paranoid. The best protection will be not to tell him."

There was silence for a while. "Yoh." Lyserg's eyes were hard. "You owe me a favour. I saved Anna and Hana. Train Hana. You don't have to tell him that the Hanagumi want revenge on you. It's about time he learnt anyway. Then if he is kidnapped, at least he has a chance of surviving until we find him."

Yoh sat up straight. "Don't talk like that." There was fear on his face. "I'll train him, but the Hanagumi won't lay a finger on him. I'll make sure of that."

Lyserg placed his hand on Yoh's shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that. Hana's a strong boy. Besides, I'm probably being paranoid. Maybe the Hanagumi won't try to get him."

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Ten minutes later, Yoh was in Anna's room again. She was no longer in her bed, signifying that she was feeling better and had gone out. He proceeded into Hana's room and found that empty too. The silence in the room was creepy. It reminded him of Lyserg's words.

_If he is kidnapped, at least he has a chance of surviving…_

Yoh shivered and left the room quickly. Is that how the room would feel if Hana did go? If Hana wasn't around any more, would the whole house become silent? What would Anna's reaction be? Would she cry, or put on a brave face? What would he do? Scream, cry? Maybe he'd just lose all of his emotions, become like a zombie. Yoh shook his head. If Hana did go, he'd probably lose the will to live. Did so much of his life revolve around a seven-year-old?

_Hana's a strong boy…_

Yes, he decided firmly as he turned into the living room, where Hana was happily playing a board game with Tetsu. When Hana caught sight of his Otou he abandoned the game and ran towards him. And as Yoh swung him up in the air, he knew his Musoko was the most important person to him in the whole wide world. And if anything happened to him, Yoh would personally go out and kill the perpetrators.

_I'm probably being paranoid…_

Yoh placed Hana on the ground with a huge smile on his face. He leant down to Hana's ear and whispered in it, "How would you like to become a Shaman?"

_The Hanagumi won't lay a finger on him…_

And Hana's face lit up, just as Yoh knew it would. His little Musoko was so predictable.

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"Kanna! Kanna!" A blond girl of twenty ran through a doorway and nearly bumped into the girl in question. Kanna, now thirty, lit a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth. She sucked it slowly, looking down at the girl below her, who looked up in defiance.

"Mari can't find Chuck anywhere!"

Macchi, twenty-one years old, looked up from the chair she was sitting on. "Mari, you know we sent Chuck to oversoul with Yoh's kid."

"But Mari thought Chuck would only be gone a little while. Kanna told Mari he would be back soon!"

Kanna took the cigarette from her mouth. "Stop being so stupid, Mari. It'll take a bit of time for them to realise that the bones are there and to touch them."

"But Mari can sense that Chuck is in trouble! If Kanna and Macchi won't help, then Mari will go by herself." To prove her point, she turned around and walked out of the little hut that they had made their home. Kanna and Macchi looked at each other open-mouthed before following the youngest member of their group. Mari had never shown such determination as that; but then, she always got touchy when it came to Chuck, her beloved doll spirit.

"Mari is sure that something bad has happened to Chuck."

"Okay Mari, we get the point. We're coming with you." Macchi scowled at her companion, annoyed at having to leave the comfort of their house for, as far as she could see, nothing but a hunch.

They walked for only about ten minutes, for their hideaway was close to the Asakura residence. When it came into view, Kanna and Macchi stopped in case they were seen, but Mari marched straight up past their front door and peered over the fence into their garden. Her eyes widened and she motioned for the other two to come and look as well. They reluctantly came and stared over at the garden.

Yoh and Hana were there. Training.

Kanna pushed Mari and Macchi's heads down below the fence line, her face angry. "He's training him? Why? That might just ruin the whole plan! We've got to get him quickly now."

Macchi looked forlorn. "They probably captured Chuck, and realised that we were here. I bet Yoh's scared of us, and that's why he's training Hana!"

Mari looked at the ground. "What have they done with Mari's Chuck?" she whispered.

Kanna sighed, taking the cigarette out of her mouth and stubbing it out on the ground. "We'll have to find another plan."

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Anna looked out of the window where Yoh and Hana were training. She felt slightly guilty when she remembered how hard she had trained Yoh for the Shaman Tournament all those years ago. When she watched the two below her train together, she realised that there were nicer ways she could have done it. She shook her shoulders, shrugging off the past.

Her eyes wandered to the rest of their garden. It was a mess, but Anna would never tend to it. She thought it was a waste of time and money. Besides, Hana enjoyed trekking through the dense undergrowth, pretending he was in a jungle. Her eyes reverted back to Yoh and Hana and she smiled slightly when Yoh's laugh made its way to her ears. Her eyes continued around the garden when she saw a flash of blue.

She blinked and stared at the place where it came from. _Funny_, she thought. _I'm sure Horo and Pirika are inside…_ She squinted and saw the blue hair again, this time with orange hair. Anna's eyes widened. It couldn't be – could it? She opened the window and leaned out further, straining to see. There were definitely three people outside their house – one with blue hair, one with orange hair and one with blond hair. Anna felt a shiver run through her back and she withdrew her head.

She sprinted down the stairs three at a time but composed herself enough when she reached the back door. If the Hanagumi were watching, then she didn't want them to think anything was wrong. She grabbed two cups from the table and quickly filled them with water. Then she entered the garden, looking just like she was giving them a break from training.

She handed the smaller cup to Hana and sat down next to Yoh, giving him the other cup. He drank it all in one breath and then turned to smile at her. She didn't smile back, but just leaned forwards and whispered in his ear.

"I think the Hanagumi are outside."

Yoh looked up sharply. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Unless there are three other people who look just like them."

"Take Hana inside and upstairs where he'll be safe. I'll round up everyone else."

Anna nodded and went over to Hana. She whispered something in his ear and he glanced back at his Otou before complying, and going inside with his Okaa. Yoh stood up, conscious that the Hanagumi could be watching him, and whistled as he made his way inside. As soon as he was out of view, he rushed around the house finding all of his friends.

"Tamao! Can you find Pirika and round up all the children? Take them upstairs with Hana and stay there."

Tamao nodded quickly and ran off. Yoh stopped in the hall and called out.

"Ren! Ryu! Horo! Faust! Chocolove! Lyserg! Manta! Come here now, this is an emergency!"

When all his friends were present, Yoh filled them in hastily. "The Hanagumi are outside. Me and Lyserg think they want to get Hana and the other children. I think they'll be stronger than last time so we need everyone to help. Ryu, can you get Jun to help and Lyserg, can you get Jeanne? Tell them that the children are all safe upstairs. Manta, get Millie."

When everyone was assembled again and in oversoul with their spirits, Yoh calmed down. "Okay, I have a plan…"

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"We could always just run in and grab him."

"What? That's a stupid idea."

"Well, you come up with a better plan then!" Macchi leant back against the fence, glaring at Kanna. Kanna childishly stuck her tongue out at Macchi and there was silence for a while. The two had been arguing for the past ten minutes. Mari was just sitting there, staring at the floor, probably thinking about Chuck.

Macchi looked thoughtful. "We could just let them notice us and, in the confusion that follows, run in and grab him."

Kanna didn't even bother to answer.

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"That's risky, Yoh. I don't like it."

Yoh looked desperate. "But that's the best thing I can come up with, Ren. If it does work, then we're safe. And the children are safe."

"And if it doesn't?"

"I'm willing to take that risk for Hana."

Ren thought of Seiharu and nodded his head. "Fine. We'll go with it."

Yoh smiled. "Okay, I'll go and get Chuck." He rushed upstairs and into Lyserg and Jeanne's room, where Konchi and Ponchi were sitting on the bed keeping watch. Yoh ignored them and grabbed the cage, paying no attention to their shouts of protest following him down the corridor. He was about to sprint past his bedroom but something made him stop and open the door. Tamao and Pirika looked up from cooing over Lynne. Hana was staring dejectedly out the window.

"Flower!" Yoh called out. Hana turned and, when he saw his Otou, waved.

"Aishiteru, Hana!" Yoh shut the door and left without waiting for an answer. He ran with the cage back down the stairs and presented it with a flourish to his friends. Only Jeanne, Lyserg and Millie smiled, having never had to fight with the Hanagumi before. Yoh smiled back at the three, hoping they were prepared for the battle ahead.

Picking up the cage, he walked down the hall to the front door. Taking a deep breath, he opened it, setting Chuck down on the porch. He smiled slightly when he saw a flash of orange go around the corner and out of sight. So far, so good.

"YOH!" Anna's voice came yelling through the door. Yoh faked a jump and then hurried back inside, calling, "Yes Anna?" He left the cage on the doorstep. Horo was watching through the window, hidden by the curtains. Yoh and Anna joined him.

"It's working!" he whispered excitedly as Mari started creeping towards the cage. The other two, Kanna and Macchi, didn't seem to have noticed; they were too busy having what looked like a staring contest. Yoh and Horo came away from the window leaving Anna to keep watching. Yoh gathered everyone into a group just around the corner from their front door and, silently, they waited. He could hear his heart pounding beneath his chest as it did before every fight. The strength of Amidamaru in Harusame was somewhat comforting, but he couldn't shake off the fact that if he lost, Hana would be gone. He glanced up to see Lyserg smiling encouragingly at him. And that was the last thing he saw before Anna gave the whispered signal and they all rushed outside to confront the Hanagumi.

The scenes rushed before his eyes. Mari screamed as Faust hit her with an attack. She rolled over onto her side and lay still. Kanna and Macchi called up their spirits, launching attacks to fast they were a blur. Ryu was hit on the chest by Ashcroft and Jun started screaming as he fell backwards. Lyserg went into big spirit form with Morphin and managed to knock Macchi off her spirit. With a snarl on her face, Macchi made Jack strike Morphin, breaking Lyserg's spirit control. He landed on the ground with a thud.

Watching through the window, Anna felt her heart sink. The Hanagumi were winning the battle and at the rate they were going, they'd knock out all of Yoh's friends. Taking a deep breath, Anna made towards the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone come down the stairs but, presuming it was Tamao or Pirika, she ignored them and went out the door, beads in hand. Kanna and Macchi didn't notice her so she got herself into a space and started calling up her Shikigami. Before she could get the second word out, something had leapt onto her back.

Taken by surprise, Anna fell backwards on top of the person who had attacked her. She stood up and whirled around to see Mari's angry face staring straight back at her. The two girls faced each other until Anna realised that Mari was holding her beads. She made a sudden grab at them but Mari darted out the way, smirking at the Itako. Yoh turned and, seeing that Anna was in trouble, drew out Harusame and leapt towards Mari, who shrieked and dropped the beads. She backed up against the door of their house, trapped by Yoh's sword.

It was then that Yoh saw Hana.

He was just by the fence that surrounded their house. His face wore an expression of horror and fear. Kanna moved as if in slow motion. Triumph plastered across her face as she leapt down from Ashcroft and landed next to Hana, who screamed. She grabbed a handful of his hair…and everyone suddenly went quiet. Those of Yoh's friends who were still conscious stared in dismay. Macchi's face stretched as a grin enveloped her face and she let go of Millie, who she'd been about to attack.

Anna's eyes narrowed as she stepped forwards. "Let him go," she said icily.

Kanna laughed. "I don't think so, Anna. We've waited eight long years for this. I'm not just going to give up because you tell me to!"

For the first time in her life, Anna had nothing to say. Hana whimpered as he saw his Okaa give up so easily. At the sound, Yoh, who had been paralysed with fear when Kanna made her move, now spoke.

"Kanna. If you don't let him go, I'll…I'll…"

He looked around desperately for something to say and his eyes rested on Mari, who was still up against the house by his sword. He swallowed and placed the sword closer to her throat.

"If you don't give him back, then Mari will die."

Kanna's expression didn't change. "Fine. Kill her. She's a nuisance anyway. Always going on about her stupid Chuck! Hana's much more valuable than she is."

Yoh's arm dropped to his side, tears forming in his eyes. His knees gave way beneath him and he fell to the ground. Anna was still standing up, but she wasn't moving and her hair hid her face. Ren looked between the two of them, suddenly angry.

"What are you doing? You can't just give up!"

He called up Bason and attacked Kanna, who didn't flinch. At the last minute, Macchi jumped between them and hit Ren backwards. He twitched once on the floor, but didn't move again. Macchi smiled and turned to Yoh.

"He's right, you know. I expected more from the man who defeated Hao. I suppose eight years of peace has weakened you."

Ashcroft clumped over and Kanna jumped onto him, dragging a crying Hana with her. "If you'll excuse us, we'll just be going. A weak Shaman like you isn't worthy of bringing up such a strong young man."

Yoh looked up at the words with tears running freely down his face. His eyes locked with Hana's and he had to look down again. "Gomen, Hana. Aishiteru," he whispered.

And although Hana couldn't hear the words, he could guess what his Otou was saying. And it broke him apart.

"Otou! Okaa!"

Those were the last words Yoh and Anna heard from their Musoko before the two Hanagumi ran off in the other direction and disappeared from view.

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ARG! That was so hard to write -sniff- Poor Hana and Mari!

The next chapter will take a long time. I'm going to Germany for 9 days on Thursday so I won't have a computer. Then I've got to catch up on all the schoolwork I'll have missed so…you may have to wait a while.

My reviews are going down chapter by chapter... I'm not one to insist on a certain number before updating, but I do love to hear what you think. Thanks to my 7 (ahem) reviewers: Holy Girl, Hemila-Rose, ChibiAzn3, Daedal, Ireru no Miko, Yona57.

As always, please leave a review!

Xbakiyalo


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary:** Hana, Anna and Yoh's son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Confused and unsure of who to trust, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Rating:** K+ (PG)

**Chapter Notes:** I'm so sorry that this chapter took over two months to write! Wow, has it been that long? I had bad writer's block until a few days ago. Also, I was kind of depressed because my sister's friend had borrowed my DVDs for ages and ages. But, I have them back now, so I should feel more like writing.

**Pairings:** AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei. I own Seiharu, Tetsu, Gemmei, Kimiro and Lynne.

**Key:** In Japanese, Okaa means mother, Otou means father, Musoko means son, Ototo means younger brother.

**Other: **Dedicated to 'The dark midnight sky'! Thanks for everything

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When Hana was gone, Anna started sobbing uncontrollably. She fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands. No one knew what to do or say to the two distraught parents who were crumpled heaps on the ground. The scene was shattered suddenly when Tamao burst through the door, panting hard. "Me and Pirika – we've looked every where, but we – we can't seem to find Hana anywhere!"

Everyone turned and glared at her. She paused, confused as to what she had done wrong, and was startled to see Anna get up, with a huge effort. Her face was streaked with tears and underneath her eyes the skin was red and puffy. She forced herself along the path to Tamao and raised her hand as if to slap her. Her hand stopped in midair and, before anyone could say anything, she pushed Tamao aside and ran through the door.

Tamao stared after her and looked questioningly at Horo. He glanced at Yoh, who was still not moving and took her aside, quietly telling her what had happened. Faust, who at that moment seemed to be the only one who could still think straight, looked around him to judge the damage to their own friends. As he bent over to examine the four unconscious people, he was relieved to see that only Lyserg had what he would call serious wounds. Ryu, Ren and Millie only had minor injuries. He motioned to Jeanne to help take them inside and the two went.

That left only Jun, Manta and Chocolove to comfort Yoh. The three looked at each other, neither one wanted to speak and break the silence that was probably the only thing keeping Yoh from sobbing. In the end, Manta silently agreed to be the one to do it. Jun and Chocolove crept inside to the living room, where they sat awkwardly, unsure of what they should be doing. When Jun felt the tears starting to form in her eyes, she ran to the stairs to see Tetsu, knowing that he would bring her comfort. Chocolove, who couldn't think of a single thing to cheer himself up, stared miserably at his knees and looked out the window at Manta's attempt to bring Yoh back to reality.

Manta had put his arm around his best friend. "Yoh?"

There was no answer.

"Yoh?"

Yoh raised his head a little. His face was lined with tears. "Hana?" he asked.

Manta blinked. "No, Yoh. It's me, Manta."

Yoh put his head back down. "I let Hana down."

"No, you didn't. There was nothing you could do. If you'd have tried to fight them Hana might have been hurt, or you could have been hurt."

"I don't care. I'd die for Hana."

Manta looked at his feet. "I know you feel upset, but being like this won't help him."

"I should have been a better parent. I should have fought to save him. I'm sure he would have fought for me, and I didn't do a thing to save him. If only I could have been stronger. If only I'd trained him earlier. He probably hates me now for letting him get taken away."

There was silence until another voice said, "Too right he should."

Yoh looked up. Mari was standing in front of him. She was holding his sword in her hands but, surprisingly, she was not pointing it at him. She was simply turning it over and over. "Mari would not be surprised if Hana hates you like Mari hates Kanna and Macchi now. You did nothing to help him. You didn't even stand up and swear that you would save him. Mari thinks that because you did nothing, Hana has now given up hope that he'll ever see you again."

Yoh looked at his hands. "I don't even know where they're taken him," he whispered.

"Mari does. And Mari will take you there if you want."

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On the back of Ashcroft, Kanna started laughing manically. She let go of Hana and Macchi had to leap forwards to stop him falling off the back of the huge spirit. She wiped some tears of joy from her eyes and crouched down in front of a cowering Hana.

"You don't know how special you are, do you?"

Hana made no reply.

"We've waited eight long years to meet you."

Still Hana didn't answer. Kanna swallowed her annoyance and tried again. "Your Otou and Okaa won't miss you. Did you see them? They didn't do a thing to try and stop us."

Hana shuffled his feet. "They'll come and get me."

Kanna scowled. "They won't! They don't even tell the truth to their little boy!"

Hana looked up. "What? What are you talking about?"

Macchi shoved Kanna out of the way and resumed her post. "Remember you were asking them about a guy called Hao? Remember that they didn't tell you the whole truth?"

Hana looked confused. "They told me about him."

"But they didn't tell you everything."

"There was nothing more to tell."

"Of course there was more to say! Did they tell you how Hao was related to you?"

Hana shook his head. "No."

"He's your Otou's twin brother. Bet you didn't know that!"

Macchi grinned triumphantly at Hana, who put his hand over his mouth. "What?" he whispered. "No, you're lying! Otou and Okaa wouldn't have lied to me!"

Kanna raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't they?"

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Anger, Yoh had learnt, prevented you from winning a fight. It clouded your mind and distorted your concentration. When Hana went out of sight, it was all he could do to fight down the anger. He tried to replace it with sadness, because that sometimes clears the mind, but he could still sense the undeniable anger there inside him. He couldn't go after Hana yet. He needed to wait until the anger cooled and was replaced, not with desperation, but with determination. Then he would be able to think straight when fighting, or perhaps talking with the Hanagumi. Yoh wasn't much of a lawyer, but he could still talk his way into almost anything when he wanted to. It was something he had learned from Anna, indirectly.

But now Mari was offering to take him to the place where the Hanagumi had made their base. Well, he couldn't really refuse that, could he? By the time he'd gained determination without anger, the Hanagumi – and Hana – would have moved on to get away from him and then he'd never see Hana again and then what would he do with his life? What would Anna do with her life? There was absolutely no doubt in Yoh's mind what he had to do.

He looked up at Mari. "Take me there. Now."

Amidamaru appeared silently at Yoh's side, nodding his approval. He, too, had felt anger and desperation when Hana was taken, and wanted to get the boy back almost as much as Yoh.

Mari put down Yoh's sword. "First, give Mari Chuck."

Manta, desperate to get away from the tension, ran inside to find the cage in which Chuck was kept. Yoh said nothing more, but picked up his sword and sheathed it. He stared at Mari with dead eyes, seeing everything, but taking in nothing. Mari stared back with equal force. After a while, Manta came running back with the cage and handed it to Yoh.

"I can't open it," he confessed.

Yoh furrowed his brow impatiently. "There must be a simple way to do it! Isn't there a lock?"

"Yes," replied Manta. "But I can't unpick it, and I don't know of a key."

"Why is Mari's Chuck in a cage?" Mari yelled out, after listening to this conversation. "What did you do to him?"

She grabbed the cage away from Manta and hugged it against herself. Chuck, inside the cage, remained motionless. Mari glared at Yoh. "What did you do to him?" she repeated.

Yoh glared back. "He'd oversouled with Ha- Hana," he stumbled on his Musoko's name. "Did you expect us just to let him take over his body?"

Mari fell silent, still hugging the cage desperately. "But what about Chuck? Mari isn't taking Yoh to Kanna and Macchi until Chuck is free."

Yoh threw down his sword. "This is impossible!" A tear fell from his eye once again. "If you don't take us there now, Hana will die!"

Mari looked stonily at him. "You mean the way you were going to do to me?"

Yoh stopped. "That was different! I couldn't actually… I wouldn't actually…"

"Whatever. Nothing happens until Chuck is free."

Yoh picked up his sword again. "Lyserg will know. He was the one who put Chuck in the cage, so he ought to be able to get him out again."

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"I'm sorry, Yoh. Lyserg has bad injuries. Jeanne says he was hit by Macchi's spirit when she was in big spirit form. Lyserg lost consciousness and spirit control. He fell from a huge height onto the ground. I think Morphin managed to cushion his fall a bit, but he's in no fit state to see you."

Faust wouldn't look Yoh in the eye as he reeled off this information. Yoh kicked the wall next to him angrily. "All I want to do is talk to him!"

"He's unconscious. He probably won't be awake for at least another day."

"A day? I can't wait that long!"

"You don't need to," came another voice from behind Yoh. He turned to see Ren, hunching against the wall with a bandage over his chest. "Remember at the Shaman Tournament? You revived me with your furyoku. Do the same to Lyserg now. I'm sure we can get him awake long enough for you to ask him about Chuck."

Yoh glanced back at a glaring Mari and looked to Faust for approval. The doctor hesitatingly opened the door to Lyserg's room. Jeanne was sitting on a chair by the side of the bed reading a book. Yoh guessed it was the Bible, for she had tears in her eyes. When Yoh, Ren, Manta, Faust and Mari entered she hurriedly closed it up and wiped her eyes, not wishing for them to see her so weak. Mari smiled kindly at her.

"Is Lyserg going to be okay?" was the first thing she asked them. Then, seeing their serious looks, added, "He's not going to die, is he?"

Everyone looked at Faust, who leant back against the doorway and gave no sign that he'd heard her panicking voice. Mari, in a sudden urge of kindness, put her arm around Jeanne to comfort the girl. Yoh nearly smiled when he saw that, but then he remembered Hana's last desperate words, and immediately turned towards Lyserg, unconscious on the bed.

"Um, Faust. Can you start it off?"

The doctor nodded and walked towards Lyserg. He placed his hands on his heart and closed his eyes, channelling his power into the injured boy. Soon, Yoh, Ren, Manta and Jeanne were helping too, with only Mari standing slightly to the side, unsure if they wanted her to do anything, or not. She shuffled her feet, as nothing seemed to happen. Then, Lyserg groaned, turned over and sat up weakly.

Jeanne threw her arms around him. "Lyserg! You're okay! You're okay!"

Tears started streaming down her face again. Lyserg managed a small smile, before wincing. "What happened?" he asked, quietly.

The gang looked at each other. "Well, your spirit control was broken by Macchi and then-" started Manta.

"No, I mean… Did we win?"

Everyone looked at Yoh. "No," he replied, very softly. "They took Hana."

Lyserg put his head in his hands. "This is all my fault…"

"No it's not, Lyserg. We need you to tell us how to free Chuck from the cage. Mari's going to take us to Hana and the Hanagumi."

Lyserg, Ren, Jeanne and Faust looked up suddenly. "She is?" they asked in unison.

Mari blushed when they all looked at her. "Yeah," she said, uncomfortably.

At Yoh's cough, they looked away, and back at Lyserg. He lowered his head. "Take my pendulum. Just insert it into the lock, and the spirit will come out."

"Thank you so much, Lyserg!" said Yoh.

"Don't thank me," he muttered. "I should have told you before." He put his head back in his hands. "My head really hurts…"

Faust looked worried and, as if they were one, everyone took their hands off his chest. Lyserg fell back onto the bed and, with no more furyoku running through him, fell unconscious once more, with the same strained expression on his face. Yoh and the others silently left the room, leaving Jeanne alone with Lyserg. When outside, Yoh took out the pendulum and took the cage from Mari. Taking a deep breath, he inserted it in the lock and, relieved, heard it click open. When he looked at Mari, she was hugging her precious doll-spirit.

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"Welcome to our house, Hana!" Kanna gave the boy a push in the back and he stumbled into the room, almost tripping over his feet. Kanna appeared not to notice and strode in after him. "It's not much, but it's been home for the past eight years."

She eyed the peeling wallpaper, the damp carpets and the smudged windows with something close to humour. Hana recoiled away from a spider crawling towards him on the carpet, and then jumped as Macchi entered the room, stepping on it purposefully. She stretched and threw herself down on a holey armchair. Kanna did the same, but not without locking the door behind her first. Hana sat down in the middle of the room, conscious of the girls' eyes on him, and sobbed.

Kanna rolled her eyes and plugged her ears, looking at anything but the boy. Macchi, on the other hand, stared at him thoughtfully and, after a while, gave Kanna a meaningful glare. "I thought the plan was to make him trust us! We're not just supposed to let him cry!"

"You misunderstand, Macchi. Let him cry his emotions out, and then go and comfort him. You've obviously not very good with children."

Macchi scowled as Kanna smirked and stepped up to Hana. She put her arm around his shoulders and leant closer to his face. "It's okay, Hana," she cooed. "You just let your feelings out, and I'll sort everything out."

Hana snarled and pushed her arm away, crawling backwards away from her. "Creep," he shuddered. "Take me back home!"

Kanna took two steps and smacked him around the face. "Never speak to me like that!" she hissed, and walked out of the room, leaving Hana to shed more tears in hopeless emotions. Macchi watched him cry before slowly getting up. She squatted on the floor opposite Hana and was quiet for a while.

"Hana," she said softly, after a few minutes of silence. "Don't cry, sweetie. I don't want to see you unhappy here."

Hana deftly ignored her. Macchi's patience grew no thinner.

"I only want to protect you. Bringing you here was the only option – this is the only place where you're going to find the truth."

"I don't want to know the truth," Hana sniffed. "I want to go home."

Macchi tilted her head on one side, trying to look him in the eye. "Home where the lies are? Home where you'll never fully know how important you are?"

Hana wiped his eyes. "Yes."

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Kanna leant back on the rotting kitchen sideboard, angrily crossing her arms. Who was that kid to oppose her! Back in the days leading up to the Shaman Tournament, everyone had respected her! And now Yoh's little son wasn't playing along the way he was supposed to. What had the great Kanna Bismark become now? From one of Hao's most powerful supporters, to having to deal with a rebellious kid. That was certainly NOT what was supposed to happen.

She uncrossed her arms and walked out of the kitchen and into her tiny bedroom. Because there were only two bedrooms in the house, Mari and Macchi had had to share. Kanna, being the oldest, had made them give her the biggest one. By the side of her unmade bed there was a wooden chest with a rusting lock. Kanna tenderly took out a key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. The chest clicked open and she took out the only thing inside it: a darkened piece of paper.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she began to read the familiar words.

_"Kanna-san,_

_"You know that I leave precautions in whatever I do. You also know that today I will be fighting my dearest Ototo. Put the two together and you get this letter._

_"I am a strong Shaman. But, as you may not be aware, I have weaknesses. My Ototo is good at getting to peoples' weaknesses, and I fear him for that. You will not be reading this if I win._

_"As one of my dearest followers, you must take revenge. I have come up with a plan for this. From my downfall, wait at least eight years to give my Ototo security. Then, strike. Take away something precious from him. I'm not talking about Anna. If he has children, that is the perfect hostage. Take them away, make him suffer, and then kill him._

_"I know you'll be up to the task. Take Macchi and Mari, also dear to me, and let them help you. Do not tell them about this letter. Let them think it was your idea._

_"Signed, Hao Asakura"_

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Sorry it took such a loooong time to update! Hopefully it'll take shorter next time. Oh, and you might have guessed: I really don't like Kanna.

I'm impressed. My list seems to have encouraged a few more people to review. Thank you to these thirteen people, and I'm sorry about the long wait

Hemila-Rose, ChibiAzn3, Anikario, Daedal, Megaolix, Sakura-Moonlight, Snow-Angel-Anna, KawaiiXkesshou, Annoying Voice in BackGround, Princess of Fire, Mokiemorty, Keitorin Asthore, TogetherXforever

As always, please leave a review!

Xbakiyalo


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary:** Hana, Anna and Yoh's son, is growing up, and has learnt how his uncle died. Confused and unsure of who to trust, he is determined to find the whole truth, even if it means hurting his Okaa. AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Rating:** K+ (PG)

**Chapter Notes:** How long has it been? Eh, about four years... I get easily distracted from writing, and writing this chapter was like walking through sludge. Meep. Ill try to update sooner next time, I promise (if anyone is still following this, that is!!)

**Pairings:** AnnaxYoh, PirikaxRen, JunxRyu, TamaoxHoro, JeannexLyserg, MantaxMillie

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei.

**Key:** In Japanese, Okaa means mother, Otou means father, Anata means darling.

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Anna was alone on her bed. She had cried all the tears she possessed, and now was just sitting in silence, nothing running through her head. She wanted to erase the memories. She wanted to hold Hana, to hug him close to her, to kiss his messy hair. His high-pitched, frightened voice kept on coming back to her, haunting her, scaring her, making her wish she was dead. How could the feared Anna be beaten like that? How could two girls take away her beloved son so easily? For the first time in her life, Anna wished she had a spirit who she could talk to. Not that it would have done her any good, because for the entire world she couldn't say a single word. She felt the only thing that could make her say something was if Hana came back, and she heard his laugh and saw his smile. She was wrong.

Yoh knocked on the door quietly and opened it. Seeing his wife in such a state near broke his heart, but for her and Hana's sake, he had to keep going. "Anna? Anata?" he called softly. She gave no answer, so he entered the room and put his arm around her. "Anna, we're going to find Hana." He stopped when he felt her twitch under his arm at the name, and drew her into a gentle hug. Anna, to her surprise, still had tears left, and started sobbing into his shoulder.

"I want my flower back!" she wept.

"I know, Anata, I know," Yoh said. "We're going to get him back. I just needed to let you know that before we left. I didn't want you to worry-"

Anna pushed his arms away and fiercely wiped the tears away from her eyes. "You're not going without me!"

Yoh shook his head. He'd known that Anna would want to come and, although he knew it was an impossible task, at least had to try and deter her. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt. Especially not you."

"I'm coming with you! Hana is my son as well!"

"Fine," Yoh said reluctantly. "But promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Don't get hurt." Yoh's eyes were deadly serious.

Anna put her hand over her heart. "I promise. Those good-for-nothing Hanagumi wont know what hit them when I get my hands on them!"

Yoh smiled and, taking his wife's hand, left the room with her to where the rest of their friends, apart from Lyserg, were waiting. He smiled at each of them in turn, trying to lighten the mood. Although he himself didn't feel like smiling, he needed to try and console everyone else. He turned to the few who were injured.

"Ryu, Ren, Millie; I dont expect you to come in your state. I thank you dearly for offering, but I wouldnt want you to be hurt any more than you are at the moment. And Faust, will you stay here with them, and look after them?"

At his kind words, Millie looked relieved, but Ryu and Ren looked annoyed at themselves. Ren in particular picked at a spare bit of thread of his bandage and turned away from him, marching off so quickly that an intense pain hit his chest. He stooped, and then picked himself up again, and walked more slowly to his room to lie down. Ryu took it better, saying, "Although I wish to fight Master, I will do as you tell me."

When the four had left, Yoh turned to the remaining few of his friends. "Is everybody else coming?"

No one moved, but Yoh noticed that Tamao and Pirika were looking increasingly uncomfortable. Thinking quickly, he added, "Tamao and Pirika, can you stay here and look after the children?"

The two nodded with guilty but thankful looks, and took a step backwards from the rest of the group.

Jeanne, Yoh suddenly noticed, wasnt there and he presumed, with a sad thought, that she was with Lyserg. Without Manta, who wasnt a shaman, that left only six of them to rescue Hana: himself, Anna, Jun, Horo, Chocolove and, of course, Mari. Yoh bit his lip anxiously. It didn't look like a big fighting force. The Hanagumi beat them easily when there were two against about ten! Yoh forced back his negative thoughts. Mari would show them the way, and they would beat the Hanagumi and get Hana back!

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When Kanna went back into the living room, she was amazed to see Macchi with Hana on her lap, reading him a story. She took a step backwards, trying not to make a sound and disrupt the strangeness of the scene.

"...and then the handsome prince kissed the princess, and they lived happily ever after."

Hana clapped his hands sleepily. "You're a good storyteller, Macchi! Can I have another one?"

"No, darling. I think its about time you went to bed. Its Boxing Day today, so I'e let you stay up a bit later than I originally intended."

"Okay..." Hana dragged his feet as he followed Macchi to her small bedroom. He climbed into Mari's bed, without wondering why it was there, and fell asleep instantly. Macchi went back into the living room and sat opposite Kanna, smirking.

"Okay, spill the beans, smarty. How'd you manage to get him to like you?"

"Well," replied Macchi. "For one, I didnt slap him round the face. Two, I talked to him as if I loved him, and three, I read him a story. Three things a little boy like him would like. Oh, and I also gave him a sleeping pill in his drink to make him a bit drowsy and to clog his thoughts. You know that soon he'll begin to ask about Hao, and we need to have a story prepared."

"You can do that. It'll be better if I have nothing to do with him. He hates me now, doesn't he?"

"Probably", Mari smirked, but Kanna pretended not to notice. "But you can still make him like you, if you treat him like you treated Hao: with respect. And I know that sounds really clique, but its the only way to get back at Yoh."

"I know. But just dont get attached to him or anything. Be aware that when we kill Yoh, we're killing the kid as well."

"I know," said Macchi. "I know."

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It was snowing when they went outside, a sharp reminder to Anna that it was only the day after Christmas. Quickly, each person oversouled with their spirits to keep themselves warm. Anna, who didnt have the ability to oversoul, kept close to Yoh and Amidamaru, being warmed by the heat coming off them. Mari, with Chuck hugged close to her body, started trudging through the already thick ground. She remembered, when Hao was still alive, that her and Macchi would have snowball fights at this time of year. They'd always end up throwing them all at Kanna when she stepped outside. She smiled, but then remembered that Kanna and Macchi hated her now. And she hated them back. She did!

Anna had only one thought on her mind. The coldness and the snow meant nothing to her; she only wanted to fight alongside Yoh and get her Hana back. Her little Hana who pulled on her hair when she yelled at him; her little Hana who had hugged her tight when he said sorry; her little Hana who loved her in the bottom of his young heart. Without even realising it, tears began to slide down her face again, some turning into ice before they managed to reach her chin. Only Yoh noticed, but there was nothing he could say to console her. He too was thinking of his son; how he'd broken his promises never to let him learn about Hao, and how he'd broken his promise that the Hanagumi would never get him. He grimaced. It was almost ironic that they had named their team the same as he named his son eight years later.

He looked up at Mari ahead of him. She had such strength! If his friends had deserted him, he'd never had been able to bring anyone against them. He found himself respecting her and hoped that she wouldn't feel rejection from any of his friends as well as Kanna and Macchi. Although he trusted her, he could sense that some of the others were wondering if Mari was just leading them into a trap.

The sun went down as they walked. It filled the sky with beautiful pink colours, but none of them had the heart to admire it. It reminded Anna and Yoh of times when they used to let Hana stay up to watch the sunset. Anna started to sob into Yoh's shoulder. Mari stopped and turned around to look at them.

"Until today, Mari hadn't seen anyone cry for eight years. In Mari's experience, it doesn't help with anything. Get a grip on yourself."

She turned and started walking on. Yoh glanced down at Anna, who wiped her eyes fiercely, glaring. "Who is she to tell me how I should feel?" she whispered angrily. Yoh cast a worried look at Mari.

"We need to trust her," he said quietly. "She's only trying to help."

"Just because she wants to get revenge on the other two," muttered Anna, but she didn't bring up the subject again. Yoh once more found himself thinking about Mari. Was she only doing this for revenge? Possibly. If so, it was his fault for threatening her in the first place. What a stupid thing to do! As if he could actually kill anyone who was unarmed. He tried to think back to that moment, but it was only Hana's face that filled his mind. He felt like crying again, but Mari's words still echoed in his ears.

They trudged along in silence. Chocolove didn't attempt to make one joke; he had grown up slightly over the past seven years and, like all of them, felt the seriousness of the situation. Jun could'nt help feeling slightly uncomfortable. They were all several years her younger, and somehow she still felt responsible for them. Although her worry for Ren had subsided somewhat since seeing him up and walking, she couldn't shake off worry for Lyserg.

Mari led them through the park gates and into the park. Strangely, there were other families here. They had all nearly forgotten what it was like to be normal. Anna eyed a family with a young boy around Hanas age with envy, but didnt start crying and didnt say anything. The others kept their eyes on the ground, expecting Mari to lead them straight through the park and out the other end.

Instead, she turned off down a small, unnoticed path that led into the trees surrounding the area. Yoh looked up, narrowing his eyes slightly, and tried to take in where they were going so he could remember it for the future. He could sense the others becoming increasingly uneasy and prayed that he was doing the right thing. With the sun no longer up the forest held a sense of foreboding, and he dreaded what would happen if Mari wasn't leading them to the right place

A few minutes into the forest, she stopped so suddenly that Horo would have walked into Jun's back if Kororo hadn't grabbed his shoulder. Yoh took his arm away from its position on Anna's shoulder, and stepped up so that he was equal to Mari.

"Are we near?" he asked, quietly.

Mari nodded, a strange expression on her face; it was almost as if she was scared of where they were. Shaking off a sense of uneasiness, Yoh started walking in the direction Mari pointed. Despite himself, he approached the thick group of trees slowly and cautiously. The sound of someone's footsteps reassured him, and he turned to see Horo behind him, smiling determinedly. Yoh had to smile back. At least someone other than him trusted Mari.

He took a deep breath before pushing aside one of the trees. He expected to find oversouled spirits rushing out to attack him, but instead found himself staring at a wooden wall. Then it clicked into place and relief coursed through his body. Mari hadnt been leading them to a trap; shed led them to the Hanagumi hideout like she'd promised.

He felt like he could sag to the ground in relief, but a dull aching in his heart reminded him why he was here. Glancing behind him and seeing the whole group, not just Horo, behind him once more, he moved around the small wooden house trying to find the door.

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Kanna sat back in her chair, a cigarette in her fingers, and glared across the room at Macchi. "You can't say that, he'll hate us for it. Just... don't tell him we killed anyone."

Macchi glared back. "We have to tell him something! He'll never believe that we were completely good!"

"Macchi, he's only a kid! He'll believe anything you tell him!"

Macchi laughed bitterly. "You think its simple? When he wakes up the drug will have worn off and he'll be moping all over the place, trying to escape, crying for his Okaa. He won't want to sit down and listen!"

She turned her back and tried to restrain herself from kicking the wall. It was almost strange for them to be having an argument. Her and Kanna were always getting into tiffs, but Mari had always been there to tell them to shut up. She shook her head angrily.

"Maybe I could think better if you didn't tell me what to do all the time. I'm not twelve anymore!"

Kanna angrily pushed the end of her cigarette into the arm of her chair. "And I'm not twenty-two any more! Just... shut up about your age when Hao died."

Macchi flared up at this. "Who gives a damn about Hao?" she snapped. "I was younger than him when I fought Yoh, and I managed to stay alive! We're doing this to get back at Yoh for ruining our lives, not because of Hao!"

Kanna stood up. The cigarette she had been holding was now crushed between her fingers. "How dare you speak like that," she trembled in anger. "We're doing this to avenge Hao, not for any other selfish reason!"

Macchi stared at the wall, itching to kick it. Where was Mari when you needed her to keep the peace? "Look, will you just shut up? You'll wake up Hana, and I need to think what I'm going to tell him."

"Oh, thats right," sneered Kanna. "It's all about Hana and you. Of course, when Hao was still around, I wasn't important, was I? I wasn't the one who he told all his secrets to, the one he trusted the most out of all of us. I'll just pop off and leave you to it, shall I?"

This time Macchi really did kick the wall. "Kanna, be realistic! Hao's gone; he's not coming back. There's nothing we can do apart from to make our lives a little better. I for one don't want to be caught by Patch Village and imprisoned." She took a shuddering breath. "We can't do this alone, we've got to help each other. One person can't fight the whole of Yohs gang. Two just about can. Okay?"

Kanna marched out of the room in reply, leaving Macchi to quietly go and wake Hana up. It was time to tell him.

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Yoh stood outside the door, suddenly feeling nervous. What if he didn't like what he found in there? Mari hadnt said what they planned to do with Hana, and immediately horrible thoughts entered his mind. He hastily pushed them aside. Kanna had said they'd waited years for this. They had to have kept Hana alive.

He glanced behind him at his friends. Anna, closest to him, squeezed his shoulder and he sensed that she, too, was nervous. Mari hung around the back of the small group, one of her arms tightly wrapped around Chuck, the other moving from sitting on her hip to running through her hair. It struck him how brave she was to come back to a place she undoubtedly hated. Nothing in the world could convince him to go back to Patch Village, where Hao had died.

He quickly and quietly oversouled with Amidamaru, and heard the others doing the same. Then, taking a deep breath, he slowly advanced towards the door. He was suddenly apprehensive again. Would it be best to knock on the door? Or batter it down? He hesitated for a second too long. Before he could react, Horo had rushed past him, yelling out a wordless battle cry, and slammed into the door.

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Macchi screamed as her world exploded. She quickly scrambled to her feet, throwing aside the rubble of what had been the walls to their home. There was dust blocking her view as she breathed heavily, trying to get her mind around what had happened. Who would have destroyed their home? Yoh couldn't have... Oh my God, Mari. Coughing from breathing in the dust, Macchi swore under her breath. Had Mari betrayed them? That didn't matter. Where was Hana?

She had been right outside his door, and now it was hanging half off its hinges. Praying that the dust would hide her from whoever had attacked the house, Macchi crawled through the doorway. She could hear yelling, but it sounded so far away. A new sound reached her ears... Was that Hana crying?

"Hana?" she whispered, hoping he could hear her. "Hana!"

If it was Yoh, the first thing he'd look for was the boy. She had to get to him first. The bed she'd put him on had cracked in half with the impact of the explosion, and Hana's body was beside it. Macchi carefully put her hand on his back, and he jerked violently, looking up at her.

"Shh." Macchi put her fingers to her lips as Hana stared at her, wide-eyed and unspeaking. He hadn't been asleep for very long and still looked groggy. "Your Otou is trying to kill you!"

Hana reacted predictably. His eyes widened and his brow furrowed in disbelief, but Macchi caught a hint of what she wanted to see: fear.

"Come on, we have to get out of here." She helped Hana to his feet and looked around for a way they could easily escape. She took a step in one direction when another explosion erupted in front of her. She jumped backwards into a defensive position around Hana, hissing slightly as the dust this time failed to conceal the figures coming towards them.

The sight of Yoh Asakura still sent shivers running down Macchi's back, but whether it was from fear or anger she didn't know. She kept Hana behind her back, hoping that even if he saw his Otou, he'd stay locked in place with Macchi's previous words. Her eyes met Yoh's and she glared back at him. The dust settled.

Yoh had five other people behind him. The sight of Anna made Macchi's heart beat slightly faster, but it was when she saw Mari that her anger appeared on her face. "You traitor," she snarled, and Mari hung back.

Yoh stepped forwards as if he hadn't heard her. "Give Hana back, and I'll let you go."

"What, so you can fill his head with lies? I don't think so!" If Macchi was surprised at how clear her voice was, she didnt let it show on her face.

"Give him back."

Macchi glanced down at Hana. He was staring at his Otou with a mixture of expressions on his face, but he was still clinging to Macchi's leg. She decided to keep going.

"Or what? Will you kill me?"

She saw Yoh take a breath. "If I have to."

_Yes!_ Macchi had to suppress a grin. Yoh had walked right into that one.

"He made me, Macchi," Mari blurted out, coming forwards, and everyone's attention switched to her. "He forced Mari to come here, Mari would never have betrayed you otherwise!"

Macchi saw Yoh's mouth drop open in disbelief and she took the opportunity to grin. Anna reacted even quicker: her beads came out in a flash and surrounded Mari, gagging her and making her fall to the ground, struggling. No one helped her. Hana gave a little whimper that turned heads back to him.

"Hana..." Yoh was pleading. Macchi took in his anguished expression, together with Annas angry determination, and took a step backwards.

Jun screamed.

Macchi looked up, unsurprised, as the rest of Yohs team started to panic. Kanna had finally appeared at the back of the group and had seized Jun, holding a sword against her throat. Macchi saw Yohs eyes flicker between Hana, and Jun.

"Dont move, or I'll kill her," Kanna cackled. "And I actually carry out my threats," she added, glancing triumphantly at Yoh.

Macchi held her breath, waiting for Yoh to react. She didn't have long to wait: as if it had been fore-planned, all four of Yoh's group, even Anna, leapt towards Kanna. Without waiting to see how Kanna had reacted, Macchi turned to Hana.

"We need to go."

If all their work had been in vain, if Hana was going to reject her, it would be now. But after just a few heart-stopping seconds of him rooted to the spot, eyes closed, he turned with her. "Yes," he said, very quietly.

Macchi grabbed him by the hand, and ran.

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Again, I'm so sorry that its so late ^^ Expect the next chapter sooner!!

Thanks to my 13 reviewers over the years Ive been away: Keitorin Asthore, Daedal, Megaolix, Baby Kaoru-Sama, TogetherXforever, Pirates-and-Rum, Mokiemorty, Knux33, SakuraXx, Callista Miralni, LETS BLEACH IT, PandaYumi7 and Psychobubbles.

As always, please leave a review!

Xbakiyalo


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